A tentative agreement between the state legislature and state-supported universities and community colleges could mark the beginning of a gradual pension liability shift.

The agreement, which Western Illinois University Budget Director Matt Bierman said was the product of an ad hoc committee chaired by Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, would require state universities and community colleges to begin paying half of 1 percent of retirement costs until the university or college has taken on the full cost of its employees' pensions.

In the past, Bierman has said that to his knowledge, universities were willing to take on the added cost of a pension liability shift, provided that the shift was made gradually.

"We were told we were going to have a cost shift — it wasn't a matter of if, but a matter of how and when," he said Friday. "The universities and community colleges negotiated some aspects of this proposal in order to say that we could accept this, if that's what (the state) is going to force us into."

For WIU, Bierman said for the first year the proposed shift would be in effect, the cost to the entire university would be around $650,000. That number, he said, would grow each year and take into account any increase in salaries, cost of living adjustments or the hiring of new personnel.

Sally Shields, public information coordinator for Spoon River College, said under the proposed shift, SRC would have to pay $32,000 per year for the next 22 years, amounting to a total cost of $815,000. SRC President Curt Oldfield was unavailable for comment Friday.

Although Madigan intends to bring this agreement to the Illinois House floor, Bierman said to his knowledge, the state Senate is not currently discussing cost shift proposals.

As such, Bierman said the university is currently unsure of how far the proposal will get in the Illinois General Assembly. Additionally, Bierman said it was his understanding that the proposal is a deal made only with state universities and community colleges. He said to his knowledge, there is "no such agreement" between the Illinois House and local school districts.